SimplyAbuDhabi XII

7 4 S I M P LY A B U DH A B I Her first two albums made a ripple, reaching the top 10 in the Billboard 200 chart. But it was with the single ‘Umbrella’ that she made her major breakthrough and began a meteoric rise to fame. Today there are few countries in the world that don’t know and love Rihanna’s music. She has sold over 50 million albums and 180 million singles to date – earning her an estimated $50 million a year, not to mention awards and accolades. Her trophy cabinet is positively heaving, with six Grammy Awards, five American Music Awards, Billboard Music Awards and two BRIT Awards. In 2012 she was ranked the fourth most powerful celebrity of the year by Forbes magazine, while TIME also recognised her as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. There’s no doubt that Rihanna is one of the zeitgeist performers of this era. Which is why thousands of fans flocked to the du Arena for her Diamonds World Tour. Coming on stage just before 10pm she delivered an engaging set full of showmanship and high- octane entertainment befitting of the Yas Island Formula One location. The singer – who visited Yas Waterworld ahead of her performance – attracted fans from across the region to her Middle East show. Taking an unapologetic opportunity to promote her latest album, she sang a mash-up of hip-hop, reggae and dance in her customary swaggering style, throwing in her major hits to keep the crowd lively. As always, like arriving late to a party, Rihanna didn’t arrive on stage until after her scheduled time. But when she did, she appeared confident and sassy, strong and raunchy. Dressed in loose white trousers, white high top trainers and a white cap and veil combination, she looked every inch the fashion connoisseur that we’ve come to expect of the catwalk front-row regular. The background team and entourage set a simple stage to minimise the distraction from Rihanna’s exquisite showmanship. Backing dancers remained in the shadows while the lady herself took full advantage of the spotlight to dance, shimmy and thrust her way across the stage. Disappointingly, she didn’t always sing the vocals, quite clearly lip-synching various tracks. It’s a great shame in a purportedly live concert, but not entirely unusual. The disappointment was offset by the powerful performance she gave in ballads. Her current hit ‘What Now, Stay’ was special, as was the show’s eponymous single ‘Diamonds’. At points she lost the audience by focusing on her new hits over her old classics. Concert-goers frequently want sing- alongs and Rihanna’s stage team could, at points, have done well to remember that. That decision could have a lot to do with the evolution Rihanna has undergone in recent years, transforming herself from a grungy, R’n’B princess (with lyrics to match) to an elegant pop princess, but why leave the past behind when fans have followed so religiously? Where the show lacked a little pizzaz (or singing), all was forgiven in the spectacular finale. The stage exploded into a fire burst of lasers and Coldplay-inspired flashing wristbands that were issued to every member of the audience on arrival, set to a David Guetta backdrop. It worked.